The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-12-30

LM A "AA 80 I
set clatted Familiarity of the ups end
downs of u miners life. the topic being
.s..e-ted hy a landscape dotted with coal
.nreakers and furrowed with coal roads
The freedom aud interest Of their con
,-r-8fi0u din not seem 10 be dampened 10y
fae fcf that the younger Of the two
carried % revolver, while bis compan-
..u wore q pair Of those unc0yeted articles
o. iewelry which are known In criminal
,r..c. 90, bracelets
Ihr fcw passengers who had observed
ihom learned from the confidential brake
man chat they were q noted detective and
DIS prisoner on the way 20 trial. As far
a- ages went. the pair might have been
taken for father and son, the fine gray
head OF the D contrasting strongly W
fhc crisp brown curls of his captOr
What crime had been committed the
trakeman did NOT know. but hazarded q
conjecture that 10 "must have been II
pfafty bad one or George Munsen wouldn't
have took the trouble 10 put them things
900 Dis wrists
Presently the brakeman aud the con-
ductOr satisfied the joint demands Of Ell
quettc aud curiosity by stopping 10 eX-
NNIN.L A INV MnN"A" N'NA NAHL "' |'N"AHLH
Cine former then pcrcbcd himself upon the
r.al box directly behind the prisoner, and
the latter dropped magnihcently into The
scat boo front. The train was sweeping
around a curve and past "a ruined trestle
on the hillside at which both of the pas
-gn.cr- looked with some interest.
% remember That place, ' said the older
mau
$50 do g. responded the younger, Il
ua~ born there. Came near being buried
ia,re. Too. le resumed. after "a moments
pause
How was chat
.lt'sa pretty long story. said the de-
t,otiye. "but 1 guess Well nave time for
Do U,tweeut this and the next station Way
uu there ON the slope is the little
settlement where / made my debut. so 20
sneak. from 90 90 the bottom of the hiil
tlerc used Co be "a gravity road-a long.
winding track reaching from the settle
meut down 10 the top of a blank wall OF
earth where q Slide occurred the year !
Was born ON both sides OF the track
lrew sarliugs that hal sprung up since
ihc disaster lEhat / am telling You hap
peued i've years later and they crowded
|uF NIINN anna nuns AHNA NAAL kA"A a 49, AH"A
ola which the coal cars used 10 run GOu
must remember that the houses were
built near the mouth Of the pit-tAat was
one Of the first mines worked boo this c0un-
try. and one Of the first to be abandoned
Time / am telling about. some men were
walking up track. and q lot of children
playing near the top little dey's, climb
lur in and ont of an old car which had
lain there since 1t made its last trip. with
me broken spraegs still In its wheels
The men were miners. all but u Of
them who questioned his companion
about their work and the country they
lived in. lie was evidently "a stranger
probably a newspaper man.
presently. as they talked, a shout
from the top Of the slope attracted their
attention aud they looked up Just ln time
Co see the car begin 20 move slowly down
the grade.
.sThere was ana impatient exclamation
from the oldest man In the party. Them
brats is always up 20 some mischief, lac
said They have started that old thing
OF at last. I've been eXpectin' 10 see il 60
any time this five year. They'll be break
ing their necks vet with their tomf00ling
And another OF the group added We
must dust out OF this lively, unless we
want 10 get own necks broke; she'll
either jump the rail or 90 TO pieces at the
bottom, lucky there amt no one on board
" her
The stranger was looking anXiOusly up
az the approaching runaway. His quick
eve had caught sight OF something round
and golden above the black rim.
" There's + child Ia that car, he said,
quietly
1t was a second or two before his com
panious realized the awful meaning OF
that statement. a childi That was, rs
il he had said that in afew moments some
One-perhaps one Of thcmseiyes-wOuld
be childles5
witt one impulse they turned 10 look
at the broken rails'by The edge Of the
fault S~hnddering, they fixed their eyes
again on the approaching mass, then hope
Iessly on each other. They could not
dream OF stopping the progress OF the car.
But Quick as thought almost, the stranger
took hold Of a sapl.ng and bent IL down
I'LL IL nearly touched the track. Hold IT,,
he said 10 one Of the men; II viii help TO
cheek her A rod further down another
aud then a third and fourth were held IN
the same way So four Of the party
,vnited for a few breathless seconds, While
the two remaining ones hurried further
down but one more effort and the car
was upon them. The first obstacle was
whipped out Of the hands Of the strong
who held il and the car rushed on 10
the second with scarcely lessened force.
Again. the barrier was brushed aside, but
his nBe the speed Of the old wreck was
pefceptibly less. BY the time the NTH
obstruction vas reached the new conner
was able 10 Chamber aboard and throw the
child into the arms OF his companion, but
he had time 10 a himself the old
had regained something Of its mo
and was plunging Oh toward the
precipice
Wen, the man jumped just as they
the edge, just before the vehicle
shot over into the air but he had very
little time to choose his ground, and 50
as luck would have 1t, on the only
heap OF stones in sight. The others
picked him up for dead and carried him
up 70 the settlement, where the miners
held a regular wake over him. But he
70 life in the middle OF the festiy-
The obsequies, / mean-and 1t was found
that he was only crippled for life. !